 Home
All About UBI
The Lumen Concept
Why Now?
Contact
|
WHY NOW?
In spite of its effectiveness and benefits, UBI fell into disuse in the 1950s due to the advent of antibiotics, and today it is used in only a few specialist clinics.
But several factors justify taking a new look at UBI therapy now that we’ve entered the 21st century:
- Bacterial and viral infectious diseases have become increasingly resistant to standard antibiotic treatments. In some cases, there is no antibiotic treatment at all, and some other way to respond to these “superbugs” is needed quickly.
- Even with “normal” diseases, antibiotic and vaccine stockpiles are limited, and an epidemic outbreak of even a relatively treatable disease might be more than authorities would be able to handle. Stockpiles that do exist have expiry dates, and replacing unused drugs is expensive.
UBI has no expiry date – and the only “drug” used is a small amount of anti-coagulant, a purely chemical mixture that can be made in massive quantities in little time.
- Treating a disease outbreak with antibiotics and vaccines requires the right drug at the right place at the right time. In addition, bacteria and viruses mutate quite quickly, and it is not only a guessing game but also in many cases a race against time to develop a treatment that works against the pathogen of the moment.
But UBI is completely generic, not tied to any specific disease, and is thus potentially able to counter any pathogen.
- In addition to natural disease outbreaks, there is the possibility of bio-terrorism resulting in a man-made epidemic. This could involve a natural and treatable disease or a “tailored” pathogen, but either way it’s impossible to predict exactly what a terrorist would use – and therefore what countermeasure to stockpile. Again, UBI’s flexibility makes it the ideal mechanism for response or prevention.
- Finally, UBI has two different documented effects: (1) treating an existing condition, and (2) enhancing long-term immunity. In an age of constantly rising costs, a single treatment that can do both these things is going to be a benefit to all concerned.
Lumen’s hope is that we have created a device that will allow the UBI effects, both short and long-term, to be realized with a single treatment of five minutes or so, using inexpensive disposable components.
|
|
